Written Answers Wednesday 4 August 2010

Scottish Executive

Central Heating

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what allocations there were in Glasgow under the boiler scrappage scheme, broken down by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation area.

Jim Mather: The Energy Saving Scotland boiler scrappage scheme issued vouchers on a first come, first served basis. Information on applicants was not captured in the format requested but can be broken down by postcode area in the Glasgow City council area. This is supplied in the following table.

  Please note these figures will change, for example, if duplicate vouchers are found or if applicants do not redeem their vouchers.

  

Outcode
Vouchers
Outcode
Vouchers


G11
14
G4
3


G12
14
G40
1


G13
31
G41
28


G14
14
G42
16


G15
7
G43
15


G2
1
G44
17


G20
9
G45
1


G21
5
G46
1


G22
2
G5
1


G23
1
G51
2


G3
6
G52
14


G31
5
G53
12


G32
22
G61
1


G33
14
G69
26


G4
3
G76
2


G40
1
 
 


Total
285

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Public Sector Climate Action Group was established.

Stewart Stevenson: The first meeting of the Public Sector Climate Action Group was held on 8 February 2010. Meeting papers are available on the Scottish Government website at:  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/Workingothers/pscag .

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Public Sector Climate Action Group has met since its creation.

Stewart Stevenson: The Public Sector Climate Action Group has met three times. Meeting papers are available on the Scottish Government website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/Workingothers/pscag .

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit of the Public Sector Climate Action Group is.

Stewart Stevenson: The remit of the Public Sector Climate Action Group is available on the Scottish Government website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/Workingothers/pscag .

Climate Change

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who is represented on the Public Sector Climate Action Group.

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many members the Public Sector Climate Action Group has.

Stewart Stevenson: Membership of the Public Sector Climate Action Group can be found within minutes of meetings available on the Scottish Government website at:  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/Workingothers/pscag .

Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what country each of the successful applicants for Saltire Prize Official Applicant status is based.

Jim Mather: The team who will be awarded official applicant status is based in Scotland. To date we have only received one application that has provided the necessary evidence of a lease agreement and it is based in Scotland.

Ministerial Cars

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cars were provided for ministerial and associated travel from (a) its car pool and (b) private car hire firms in each of the last three years and at what cost.

John Swinney: The Government Car Service in Scotland provides transport for members of the Scottish Cabinet and ministers, ministers of other UK administrations when in Scotland, the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General, a limited number of senior officials in the Scottish Government, dignitaries and advisers, with the approval of ministers and, where necessary, the transportation of official documents.

  The following table sets out the information requested. Costs quoted include staff costs, fuel costs, vehicle service/repairs costs and travel and subsistence costs.

  

Year
Number of cars
Cost (£)


2007-08
25
871,504


2008-09
25
908,507


2009-10
25
929,899



  We do not hold records on the number of cars used by private hire companies. The following table gives details of the cost of journeys carried out by private hire companies for the last three years.

  

Year
Cost (£)


2007-08
90,638


2008-09
72,478


2009-10
65,759

Public Sector Staff

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the absence rates of public sector employees.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has arrangements in place for closely monitoring sickness absence to ensure that actions are taken to help reduce the overall absence rates among employees. This includes a dedicated absence management team who provide support for managers, back to work interviews when absences occur and a rolling programme of health and wellbeing events. An employee assistance programme is also available to all employees which offers advice on mental health and other health and wellbeing issues.

Public Transport

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimated cost is of the Glasgow subway improvement; what the sources of funds are for this project, and when it will be completed.

Stewart Stevenson: The operation and maintenance of the subway is a matter for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). SPT’s current estimate of the capital cost of their preferred option for the subway modernisation is £283.9 million in nominal terms.

  The Scottish Government has received a copy of SPT’s outline business case and is working with them to develop their proposals further, including funding options and timescales.

Rail Network

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been (a) spent, (b) committed and (c) not yet committed on the Borders railway project.

Stewart Stevenson: £52 million has already been invested in developing the project to this stage, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to the project. This consists of approximately £45 million from Scottish Government, with the remainder from local council contributions and parliamentary phase grant awards.

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-34984 on 30 July 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Rail Network

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on consultants on the Borders railway project broken down by firm.

Stewart Stevenson: As of June 2010, consultant costs for the Borders railway project were approximately £2.7 million with a breakdown of costs as follows:

  

Consultancy
£


Dundas and Wilson
548,638


Environmental
457,594


Turner and Townsend
59,577


Ernst and Young
1,344,932


Partnerships UK
145,278


Mott MacDonald
14,981


Weber Shandwick
206,041


Total
2,777,041

Rail Network

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what projects were funded through the regulated asset base in each of the last three years.: 

Stewart Stevenson: The following table shows which programmes/projects were funded via the regulated asset base in each of the last three years:

  

2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


 Nil
Airdrie to Bathgate Rail Line 
Airdrie to Bathgate Rail Line 


 
 
Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme 


 
Paisley Corridor Improvements 
Paisley Corridor Improvements 


 
Glasgow Barrhead Kilmarnock 
Glasgow Barrhead Kilmarnock 


 
 
Ayrshire/Inverclyde Infrastructure Enhancements


 
 
Stabling Enhancements

Renewable Energy

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to harmonise the various methods of valuing biomass energy plants.

John Swinney: Valuations of all non-domestic properties in Scotland, including those for biomass energy plants, are carried out by the Scottish Assessors independently of the Scottish Government. The valuation methodology for biomass energy plants is therefore a matter solely for the Scottish assessors who seek to harmonise valuation practice with their counterparts in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Road Accidents

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) reported accidents, (b) injuries and (c) fatalities there have been on the roads in each year since 1997, also broken down by road.

Stewart Stevenson: The following table shows a summary of the information requested. A detailed breakdown of these categories by road can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 51328).

  Reported Road Accidents and Casualties Killed or Injured on Scottish Roads Since 1997

  

 
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002


Accidents
16,646
16,519
15,415
15,131
14,723
14,343


All Casualties*
22,629
22,467
21,002
20,517
19,910
19,275


Fatalities
377
385
310
326
348
304



  

 
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009


Accidents
13,918
13,919
13,438
13,110
12,506
12,158
11,538


All Casualties
18,757
18,502
17,885
17,269
16,238
15,590
15,014


Fatalities
336
308
286
314
281
270
216



  Note * including fatalities

Road Accidents

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cyclists have been (a) involved in reported accidents, (b) injured and (c) killed on the roads in each year since 1997, also broken down by road.

Stewart Stevenson: The following table shows a summary of the information requested. A detailed breakdown of these categories by road can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 51329).

  Pedal Cyclists Involved, Killed or Injured in Reported Road Accidents on Scottish Roads Since 1997

  

 
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002


Involved in Accidents
1,309
1,167
1,062
900
942
852


All Casualties*
1,272
1,140
1,017
884
916
828


Fatalities
9
13
8
12
10
8



  

 
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009


Involved in Accidents
840
794
808
801
740
768
822


All Casualties*
802
776
781
781
714
730
804


Fatalities
14
7
16
10
4
9
5



  Note * including fatalities

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when (a) ministers and (b) officials last met members of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route steering group.

Stewart Stevenson: The last Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route steering group meeting was held on 1 April 2010. Ministers do not attend the steering group meetings.

Roads

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions its officials have had with (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire Council regarding the introduction of a new tax to help fund the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Stewart Stevenson: Officials have had no discussions with Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire Councils regarding introducing a new tax to help fund the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Schools

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the first school of the first tranche of the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme to open.

Keith Brown: The Scottish Futures Trust will deliver the first primary school funded by Scotland’s Schools for the Future by the end of 2011, which will be four and a half years since this administration came to power. This compares with the five and a half years the first Scottish Executive administration took from taking office in July 1999 to opening the first school, the refurbished Dunbar Grammar School, in December 2004.

Schools

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what schools in Renfrewshire have a suitability rating of C and D.

Keith Brown: Suitability data for all Scottish local authority schools will be included for the first time in the School Estate Statistics 2010 , which will be published at the end of September 2010.

Scottish Government Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is undertaking work to develop an asset disposal strategy.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has for some time had a strategy on estates asset management, including asset disposal. Any disposals of surplus or vacant property are undertaken following the principles set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

Scottish Government Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to adopt the UK Government’s five-day target for settling public sector supplier invoices.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government is concentrating on ensuring that all our supplier invoices are paid within 10 days. Latest performance shows that over 95% of invoices are paid within that target, and the Scottish business sector has noted the positive contribution that this has made to company liquidity in Scotland over the past year.

  We will continue to keep under review the target period for paying invoices.

Scottish Government Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review rates relief schemes.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government keeps all its rates relief schemes under regular review. It is estimated that over the next five years £2.4 billion of rates relief will be available.

Scottish Government Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its projects and initiatives have experienced budget overruns in the last three years, broken down by the (a) name and purpose of each project and (b) planned and outturn budget costs.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government exercises careful management of all projects. Regular information on performance of projects is already published.

Scottish Investment Bank

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what private funds have been obtained by the Scottish Investment Bank since its creation.

Jim Mather: Using the public sector investment of £50 million as cornerstone funding, work to secure substantial additional private sector investment is well underway. Discussions with a number of potential investors are progressing satisfactorily.

Scottish Water

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has provided in support for Scottish Water borrowing in each financial year since the formation of the organisation.

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Water’s level of borrowing is published in its annual report and accounts for each year. The Bib. numbers for each year are:

  2002-03: 28754

  2003-04: 33541

  2004-05: 36848

  2005-06: 39906

  2006-07: 43566

  2007-08: 46506

  2008-09: 48596

  2009-10: 51154

Special Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibilities have been allocated to Alex Bell as a special adviser.

John Swinney: Alex Bell’s responsibilities include advice on renewable energy issues, the relationship between constitutional progress for Scotland and economic success, and general preparation for questions and speeches.

Taxis

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost to obtain a licensed taxi badge is, broken down by local authority.

Stewart Stevenson: This information is not held centrally. Responsibility for setting the level of taxi and private hire car licensing fees for their area is a matter for individual licensing authorities.

Transport

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is prioritising the projects in the Strategic Transport Projects Review.

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) progress has been made and (b) work is underway on each project in the Strategic Transport Projects Review.

Stewart Stevenson: I have previously highlighted our approach to the prioritisation of the projects in the Strategic Transport Projects Review.

  Our priorities are:

  Firstly, the Forth Replacement Crossing. The Bill has been brought before the Parliament.

  Secondly, the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvements Programme is being taken forward for delivery. The first phase of this programme, new hourly fast services between Glasgow and Edinburgh have been introduced. In addition, outline design for the new station at Gogar is progressing well, and it is planned that the station will be completed to coincide with the opening of the Edinburgh tram network.

  Finally, Network Rail are working hard on the development of our plans for the Highland main line and the Aberdeen to Inverness line.

  In terms of the remaining 25 projects, we are working with partners and stakeholders to take forward the development and design of these projects.

Unemployment

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a guaranteed (a) training place or (b) job for 18 to 24-year-olds out of work for more than 6 months.

Keith Brown: Employment is reserved to the UK Government through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The previous UK Government introduced the Young Persons’ Guarantee (YPG) as a targeted response to the recession’s impact on young people. Through this, the majority of young people in Scotland (18 to 24 and over six months unemployed) currently have the option of either some form of vocational training or a subsidised job.

  The YPG offer will end in March 2011. However, young people in Scotland who are over the age of 18 will continue to have access to Training for Work at the three months stage of unemployment. Training for Work is the Scottish Government’s vocational training programme for unemployed adults.

Wind Farms

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning applications for wind farms in the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley parliamentary constituency are being considered.

Stewart Stevenson: Information on wind farm applications being considered by Scottish Ministers is available by local authority areas.

  Applications for onshore wind farms in excess of 50 megawatts (MW) are considered by Scottish Ministers under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Currently two section 36 wind farm applications are under consideration. One is located in the South Ayrshire local authority area and the other in East Ayrshire.

  Wind farm applications below 50 MW are initially considered by the planning authorities but such applications may be referred to Scottish Ministers for consideration under either the notification or appeals procedures. There are currently no notified applications being considered but there is one appealed application with the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals for a development in the East Ayrshire local authority area.